By Brodric Houston, Staff Writer 

Ja Morant, the starting point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies is in hot water as he is making bad news again. He’s out for at least two games, while power forward Brandon Clarke is out for the rest of the season with a torn left achilles. In addition, forward Dillon Brooks is coming off a one-game suspension. 

 Morant has been suspended for flashing a gun at a Colorado club early Saturday morning on March 4. Morant recorded himself in the club flashing a small pistol multiple times. His team announced that they would suspend Morant for at least the next two games. 

In addition to this situation, Colorado Police Department are also investigating the situation under their own terms. 

Morant has already served one game with a loss over the Los Angeles Clippers, and now they will be going up against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night without their star player. 

Brooks was suspended for matching the league’s suspension cap for technical fouls, at 17. He was suspended for their loss against the Clippers and is set to return for the game against the Lakers. 

“We are aware of a social media post and are investigating,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said. “If they find more daunting evidence, Morant can be suspended longer and get a fine”.

Since the incident, Morant has deleted all of his social media and put out a statement through the Grizzlies organization. 

“I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzles organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”

This isn’t the first time Morant has been in the news for off-the-court incidents. Earlier in the week, it was reported that he allegedly assaulted a 17-year-old boy and threatened him with a gun last summer. The case was dropped because there wasn’t enough evidence. 

Morant claimed it was an act of self-defense; this is something no professional athlete would want. 

Last summer, Morant was accused for threatening the head of security in a Memphis mall. This stemmed from Morant’s mother having a dispute with an employee at Finish Line. Once again, no charges were filed.

Another incident involving Morant happened earlier this season. On January 29, 2023, the Grizzlies were playing the Indiana Pacers, after the game the Pacers organization said that there was a red laser pointed at members of the team. They stated that the red laser came from a car in which Morant was a passenger of. After the incident, Morant’s longtime friend, Davonte Pack, was banned from the Pacers arena.

Morant’s off-the-court antics continue to shine an unwanted glare on the team and fans are hoping that it doesn’t ruin the Grizzlies’ season. They already have taken a hard hit with injuries to center Steven Adams and Clarke. 

 Clarke, an important part of the Grizzlies rotation, left Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets and did not return. It was announced that he suffered a season-ending achilles tear in his left leg. In his fourth year Clarke was averaging 10 points and five rebounds per game.

Copy Edited By Clifton Dutton